Everything I Know About Freelancing I Learned from WHAM!
There’s something about skinny white men prancing about that just screams “business acumen.” And if there was any band more white or more prancy than WHAM!, I haven’t found it yet.
So here is why everything I’ve learnt about freelancing can be attributed to WHAM!
Wake me up before you go-go
Wake me up before you go-go
Don’t leave me hanging on like a yo-yo
Wake me up before you go-go
I don’t want to miss it when you hit that high
I discovered quite quickly in my freelance career that clients can often leave you hanging or pull you back and forth like a yo-yo.
Thanks to WHAM! I now make sure that clients stay in constant contact and “wake me up” before they go-go.
I’ve also found that staying in regular contact makes for a lot less disappearing clients and whole lot more offers to “take me dancing tonight.”
Careless Whisper
Tonight the music seems so loud
I wish that we could lose this crowd
Maybe it’s better this way
We’d hurt each other with the things we’d want to say
Ahh…ruined client relationships always make me feel like “I’m never gonna dance again, the way I danced with you.”
The best course of action, when things go south with a job, it to call it quits rather than make a scene with a client. A careless whisper in the wrong ear always makes you feel like you “should’ve known better.”
Freedom
Like a prisoner who has his own key
But I can’t escape until you love me
I just go from day to day
Knowing all about the other boys
You take my hand and tell me I’m a fool
To give you all I do
Just say no to spec-love…uh…I mean spec-work.
Love Machine
I’m just a love machine
And I won’t work for nobody but you,
I’m just a love machine,
A huggin’, kissin’ friend.
Clients respect ethical designers that can give them exclusive attention; whether it’s a non-compete clause or just turning down work you think will endanger a relationship with a current client.
Also, huggin’, kissin’ friends are the best kind of friends to have.
I’m Your Man
Baby, I’m your man (don’t you know that?)
Baby, I’m your man
You bet!
If you’re gonna do it, do it right – right?
Do it with me
It’s all about confidence. Proving that you’re the man for the job and then delivering is a sure fire way to keep a client happy – right?
Just be careful about using the phrase “do it with me” in your correspondence.
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This could be the worst post I’ve ever seen on the web.
Remove “could be” and replace with “is.”
100% agree!!!!
hahaha…. I was expecting this kind of reaction!
this is really a funny idea of extracting lines from songs then relate it with freelancing.. but there some good points though!
lol, extremely cheesy but definitely some valid points
“Club Tropicana drinks are free.”
It’s all about getting free drinks. At Club Tropicana.
I can see why that was left out.
My bad.
It just goes to show how many things you can learn from 80′s pop music.
And Jameos, where can I pick up my “Worst of the Web” trophy?
You forgot …
Somebody tell me
Why I work so hard for you
(To give you money)
Everything She Wants lyrics.
We work so hard as freelancers to help our clients profit in the marketplace.
I’m old enough to remember WHAM!’s heyday (though I never cared for them even then). Based on that and the sheer number of tweets about this, I was expecting some sort of comedic masterpiece.
Sorry to say but it’s more than a bit disappointing, even from a comedic perspective.
I mean, you didn’t even use the “going solo” line…
Just the title of this made me read the post.
This is hysterical. Combining, humor and advice…perfect. I am a huge Wham & Gerorge Michael and even remember Andrew Ridgley’s side project…yeah.
Sometimes I wear a shirt that says “CHOOSE LIFE”
Best Wishes,
Woody
Well, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The title caught my attention right away!
Heh – before my time.
Freedom was not wham, it was george solo. Scary that I know that.
Freedom was a single by Wham, released in 1984, before it was a solo hit for George.
Loved this post Travis!
Had a good giggle about it the parallels you drew.
Aaargh!! But now I’m going to have Wham lyrics playing over and over in my mind – suppose it’s better than been Rickrolled.
I like the second point. If you and a client call it quits, make them leave with a good impression of you, not an “I was right- nothing about this guy was good”. You will look professional at least, and who knows, they may return when they find out that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
I think I can sing the ‘Careless Whisper’ part with you, haha. Honestly, I think freelancing these days is more like Eurythmic’s Sweet Dreams where ‘ some of them want to use you…some of them want to be used by you…’ ( Did I get the lyrics right? )
I cannot believe you didn’t mention Wham Rap – their first single. This has stuck with me ever since I first heard it…
DO! YOU!
ENJOY WHAT YOU DO?
IF NOT, JUST STOP!
DON’T STAY THERE AND ROT!
…and the rest of the lyrics are pretty relevant to freelancing (even though the song is actually about being on the dole).
Hahaha that surely is a surprising post you wrote there. A lot of good points.
Definitely not useful, but funny. I approve.